The pre-eminent long-distance ocean route is the Transatlantic Crossing. Today, the Queen Mary 2 is the only ship that has a regular summer agenda on this route, and many travelers are eager to take it. Years ago, when ship travel was the only way to go (actually, it still is!) people would logically take a round trip, but today, although some still do that, it's more likely people would sail one way and fly the other. The request is, is navigation eastbound or westbound preferable? How could it indubitably make any difference? Well there is a difference. Let me explicate the trip, and then the reasons for my answer.
Let's first make clear the variation in the middle of a cruise and a crossing. Cruises contain stops in a number of ports, sometimes practically daily. I've even heard people express their preference for the stops, complaining that if an "at sea" day interrupts that shore routine, there's nothing to do. Of course, some ships do offer precious little to do on at sea days. In any case, on a cruise you divide your time in the middle of two experiences, visiting ports and enjoying life on board.
Day Light Savings
A crossing is separate in that there are no stops. The Qm2 connects Southampton and New York in six days. The occasional other ship doing a Transatlantic Crossing might join together other ports in a similar time frame. In any case this sort of trip consists of nothing other than sea days, and one's whole attentiveness is centered on life on board. How boring can that be? Not in the slightest. As a matter of fact, there's not sufficient time to do all things you'd like.
First there's the dining. Some go to the restaurant for all three meals, but I prefer to have morning meal and lunch in the self-serve restaurants because it's quicker, and I want to do other things. It's the evening meal that for me embodies the pleasure of dress-up dining in the formal restaurant, where you get to meet sharp people, perhaps including ship's officers. (Tip: request a large table, for eight, to meet the greatest range of people; these tables are also more likely to be "hosted" by an officer.) Jacket-and-tie suffices most nights, and a tux Can be used on the more formal nights.
On the Qm2 the day is filled with sharp lectures in at least two venues. Most lecturers are part of an Oxford University program. There are planetarum shows, performances by representatives of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a spa, swimming pool, games all day long, a floor show after dinner, dancing in two venues after that. Or, you could just sit in a deck chair reading and watching the sea. Good yet, a walk on deck will get you to caress the uniqueness in the middle of the ocean of having a 360° horizon surrounding you.
I often ask people on board why they chose a given direction for their crossing, and they say it was by chance, then usually agree with my concept as to the preferable direction. Of course shipping associates will never tell you which direction is preferable, since they have to fill the ship both ways, but, assuming your travel agenda is flexible sufficient to pick either eastbound or westbound, here is my answer.
In another context, Horace Greeley famously said "Go West, young man!", and that rejoinder applies here. But why?
The rejoinder lies in the time zones. In the six days the Qm2 takes to cross the Atlantic, it crosses five time zones. Picture this. You've just had an enjoyable dinner, and may have gone to see the show. It's about 11:00 and you look at your watch. Is there time to go dancing, especially considering that early lecture tomorrow? If you're going eastbound, you know there'll be a reminder in your room to advance your clocks by an hour, so it's virtually midnight. This is the caress we all have when daylight savings starts and you "spring ahead". It's not much fun.
But on the other hand, if you're navigation westbound and see it's 11:00, you know it's indubitably only 10:00. The evening is still young. How about a dance? This is the same fun we have when daylight savings time ends and we "fall behind".
A westbound Transatlantic Crossing is therefore not only five hours longer than otherwise expected, which is close to half of a waking day, but each of these five hours is spread out, coming just at the right time, improving five isolate days. Also note that any world cruise always, always, goes westbound, adding a full 24 hours to that sort of trip. To my mind, it's a no-brainer. Westward ho!
© 2007 by Dr Vincent DiNapoli
Qm2 Transatlantic-Eastbound or Westbound?
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